Army: Leesburg woman did not find anti-tank missiles in garden shed

WAHSINGTON – An Army spokesman from Fort Belvoir tells WTOP that contrary to previous reports, a Leesburg woman did not find anti-tank missiles in her garden shed Saturday.

The woman had actually found artillery rounds, or projectiles fired from a cannon- like Howitzer.

It’s still not clear how the artillery ended up in the woman’s shed.

The artillery was armed and ready to be fired, the spokesman says.

Neighbors were evacuated and the rounds were taken to a safe location and destroyed.

EARLIER: Sunday – 6/30/2013, 7:59pm ET

WASHINGTON – A Leesburg neighborhood was evacuated for hours Saturday when a woman found two anti-tank missiles in her shed around 1:30 p.m. in the 500 block of Rockbridge Drive. She called 911 and the discovery prompted a full response from the Loudoun County police, fire department, bomb squad and the U.S. Army.

The Army was able to disrupt the firing mechanisms on the devices but they were taken away and destroyed. Nobody was hurt and the residents have now been cleared to return to their homes. The police continue to investigate.

Loudoun County Battalion Chief James Williams says residents in a 400-yard radius of the live military ammunition were evacuated.

“No one was hurt, and nobody seems to know where the devices came from. All is clear now,” Williams says.